The British Geological Society is warning that the Earth is about to get hit by the most powerful solar storm in over two decades.
The NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center similarly upgraded its forecast from G3, meaning “strong,” to G4, indicating “severe” conditions, for Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the British Geological Society says the incoming storm could grow to “achieve the maximum level of G5,” or “extreme” conditions.
“Based on satellite observations, we anticipate this event will be significant,” the organization wrote. “Early indications such as ground measurements of solar energetic particles are some of the largest recorded since 2005.”
Geomagnetic storms are the result of a surge in solar activity when the Sun unleashes a barrage of charged particles. These particles can wreak havoc on GPS and communications satellites in our planet’s orbit, and even interfere with ground-based equipment if they penetrate the Earth’s protective atmosphere.
In fact, the ongoing solar storm is proving so dangerous that Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin scrubbed the second launch attempt of its New Glenn rocket on Tuesday, following a previous scrub due to bad regular weather.
The massive rocket was meant to launch two Mars-bound NASA spacecraft, called ESCAPADE, into space.
“New Glenn is ready to launch,” the company wrote in a tweet. “However, due to highly elevated solar activity and its potential effects on the ESCAPADE spacecraft, NASA is postponing launch until space weather conditions improve.”
“We are currently assessing opportunities to establish our next launch window based on forecasted space weather and range availability,” the company added.
In October 2024, NASA announced that the Sun had reached its solar maximum, the most active part of its 11-year cycle. But considering the latest forecast, that activity is far from dying down any time soon.
Determining when exactly the storm will hit, or how strong it will be, remains difficult.
“Like any forecast, it is not possible to say with certainty exactly how big the storm will be,” the British Geological Society noted. “Solar storms travel from the Sun and can reach Earth in as little as 17 hours, although they can also take significantly longer.”
The consequences can be considerable. In May 2024, for instance, a G5 solar storm caused tractors and other farming equipment that rely on GPS and other navigation tech to suddenly break down.
A separate storm caused by an enormous solar flare in October 2024 triggered a temporary radio blackout on Earth.
On the upside, the latest geomagnetic storm’s explosion in particles is interacting with the Earth’s atmosphere in dazzling ways, resulting in stunning auroras across North America and as far south as Alabama.
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